The ruminations of a Lutheran cleric on liturgy and the Divine Service, Lutheran culture, sermons, devotional writing, tidbits from some of the projects I am working on. Above all else, Blog My Soul is a very personal endeavor, so 'professional' pieces will appear along side pictures of the grandchildren, commentary, and eclectic bits of life lived out as a child of God praying "Come, Lord Jesus."

Lutheranism 101–The Book

Who are the guardian angels?

In Brief

Most ‘modern’ talk about angels has no basis in the Christian Scriptures.

Archangels of Divine Mercy, Archangels of Divine Providence, whether named Bethany or Marachiel or St. Isaiah, are figments of someone’s imagination.

It seems the fad about angels, which was so prevalent in the 80’s and 90’s with Sophy Burnham and the television show Touched by an Angel, has not diminished much. A reader’s note prompts me to consider that maybe the false teachings about angels have endured long enough to almost become mainstream and accepted by even Christians to be biblical. In part, then, here is the reader’s note and them my response. What do you think?

Afternoon Scot.

… I am hoping that you can help me with a puzzle.

I recently received an email from an astrologer who has told me that I have a guardian angel. This does not surprise me in the least. Recently, I have indeed felt a presence beside me, guiding me through the days and helping give me rest at night. She continues to still my mind when it races and warms me when I feel cold and empty.

What puzzles me is that I cannot find information as to the identity of this archangel: ST. BETAHNY (sic), ARCHANGEL OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE. Only one website provided a more complete name: ST. MARACHIEL, ARCHANGEL OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE.

I have always believed my guardian angel is ever-present, and say my prayer every day. I have several guardian angel pins that I wear whenever I am out, most especially when traveling. I wear the pin not as an adornment, but as a visual reminder to me that I am being looked after by Him, and (along with my own good judgment) will be returned safely to my home and family.

Can you provide me with any information about this particular archangel and about ‘divine providence?’

Thanks, Scot, for listening. I look forward to your response.

William Blake, Christ in the Sepulcher Guarded by Angels

Hi,

There is only one archangel named in the Bible, that is Michael. Gabriel, the only other named angel in Scripture, is commonly considered to also be an archangel, but that is not explicitly stated in the biblical texts. In the extra-canonical Apocrypha (those books that often appear between the Old and New Testaments) Raphael is mentioned in the book of Tobit. The Ethiopian (Orthodox) Bible’s extra-canonical book, the book of Enoch, gives the name on another angel, Uriel. These two are also commonly considered to be archangels. The extra-canonical books, while understood to be useful for learning, are never considered on the same level as the books of the Old and New Testament which are held to be the inspired Word of God. So, you are left with one, maybe two, identified archangels in the Bible.

Unfortunately, the New Age movement has taken over the biblical teaching of angels and applies the term ‘angel’ to everything from one’s emotions and urges, to wood nymphs and fairies, and then baptizes this false teaching by evoking the very biblical understanding of guardian angels. Nevertheless, this is not biblical and it is not Christian.

Yes, there are guardian angels. Psalm 91 comes quickly to mind. These mighty beings are God’s heavenly army, and messengers sent on our behalf. The New Age movement would fashion angels who hear our voice instead of God’s. Wrong. They would have us believe we can shape them, or influence them to our will. Wrong. God’s holy angels hear only the voice of God, the do only the will of God. Remember, after the fall the angels who did not revolt against God were confirmed (set forever) in their holiness, and as such would hear and do only the will of God.

I am glad you find comfort in your guardian angel pin and that your faith is strong enough to understand what the Bible teaches about the holy angels. For some however, the pin—a product of the New Age fascination with angels—will only speak of the miniaturization of the mighty angels into something that can be manipulated by us humans.

The following prayers, taught to our children from youngest age, certainly teach us a proper understanding of God’s angels working on our behalf:

Morning Prayer

I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.

Evening Prayer

I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have graciously kept me this day; and I pray that You would forgive me all my sins where I have done wrong, and graciously keep me this night. For into Your hands I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.

Another thing to note is that the angels are neither male nor female, yet in every case when an angel’s appearance is recorded in Scripture, the angel takes on the form of a man.

Back to your question. Who are Bethany and/or Marachiel? Who is St. Isaiah – Archangel of Divine Mercy? Figments of someone’s imagination. But don’t worry. We have a God holds us fast in His love and provides something greater than our imagination could conjure. And this loving God commands His mighty angels concerning you.

Peace,

Scot

UPDATE:

For more about the biblical teaching on angels, including guardian angels, see the page: All About Angels (tabs at the top of the window). 3/26/2010

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38 thoughts on “Who are the guardian angels?”

well, now i know it's not true. I also received an email from an astrologer that my Guardian Angel is St. Betahny – Archangel of Divine Providence. it looks like everyone gets the same angel , and people believe it. But after reading your response to a woman, I realised you just have to believe in yourself…
thank you

we also have the same case…my astrologer also told me about that guardian angel and claimed that it was my angel.. thanks for this info, coz ive found out that this guardian angel doesnt exist…oh?! how cruel…to my astrologer, dont just make some saints ok?!

Must be the same astrologer–Jenna. I didn't sign up for the readings. I just keep getting emails that I am a very special person. In my research, I ended up at this site. Funny thing, I was baptized Lutheran years ago!

I have received the same e mail from Jenna….I tried looking up Arch Angel St. Bethany, and she/he does not exist. Betheny is the name of a town near the Mount of Olives. Jenna has tried for years to get me to send her money for her readings…I just can’t believe that she wakes up in the middle of the night with me on her mind…

I too find this very difficult to belive. jenna is not explaining much. I have also tried to look up angel betahny and I have come up with nothing. yes, I do feel protected sometimes, but I think its all God’s special grace. if she really wants me to belive, then she should tell us more. i really want to know, but I consider myself a rational person and I want to be convinced.

Jenna also sent me an Email and says that she just found out that St. Bethany is my Guardian angel. I guess this is what she tells every one recently, because she told the same to lots of people that I talk to

Wow, glad I found this site, I didn’t believe Jenna but out of curiosity decided to look this so called “My guardian angel – St. Betahny up. She is still at it in 2011……. Glad I never sent her money…. Thanks for your expertise….

[Comment deleted. While I think it is appropriate for Blog My Soul to comment on the deplorable theology behind the modern age’s use of angels, I don’t want to participate in criticizing anyone’s motives or ‘business’ practices. Thanks for your understanding. –ScotK]

Thanks for the true word. I know now that. Jenna is a scam artist who trying to get people to believe in her lies. So glad I didn’t send $$$. I’ve unsubscribe to her website but keep getting her emails. M

oh my god… thanks to you guys, yours is bethany mines isaiah _ archangel of divine mercy.. ive’d look to the net and i found nothing… no isaiah the archangel either google or yahoo cant give me answers… and you all know who’s behind this stuffs…

I wish everyone would feel that believing in anything spiritual only takes the love to believe. If someone truly has divine vision, then money should not be their motivation to give you that vision. To believe, pray or worship should not cost. Enjoy your life and learn the life lesson you are here to learn. In the end its all about one simple action…… LOVE

Hi All, I too have been told by Jenna my Archangel is St. Bethany. She also states i have other angels watching over me by the names of Leila and Shanti. I am so glad i looked this stuff up. What a con. How can people go on messing with others lives like that. Im glad i never sent money, i just send her emails asking her to explain certain things to me. haha, there never is a straight forward explanation. We believe what we believe, not what others suggest we should believe. So happy i found this site.

Hi good morning to you all, I’ve been contacted by the same Jenna who told me of having a guardian angel by the name of St. Isaiah – Archangel and also contacted my spouse telling him that his guardian angel is St Michael. I looked it up and found no result of Isaiah the prophet being an angel. She also send me and my spouse the exact emails, the only thing that was different in the emails we both got was the numbers and names, wow! [This part of the comment deleted. While I think it is appropriate for Blog My Soul to comment on the deplorable theology behind the modern age’s use of angels, I don’t want to participate in criticizing anyone’s motives or ‘business’ practices. Thanks for your understanding. –ScotK] I’m so glad i found this site to see these comments because my spouse and I were talking of God sending his angels to protect him, and that was about last Wednesday night. And then Thursday morning i saw the email which was sent to me from Dec 13, 2011 by Jenna and i told my spouse. He when and checked his email and realized he received the same as well.

I have recently made an interesting discovery so I thought I’d write to you today to tell you all about it. I have been studying your situation on an astrological level as you know and this particular discovery is somewhat unusal and very precious. Or rather I should say someone as this discovery concerns a certain someone who has been by your side for the past 24 years without you being very much aware of it. However this person has accompanied and protected you all the way through your life. You must be wondering just who this person could be.

Well Ally, this person is your Guardian Angel. While you read the few lines that follow I would ask you to put aside your pre-conceptions and your doubts so that you can open your heart to accept the explanation of these Angels who envelop us all in their divine love. I have been working on your spiritualism and this has allowed me to discover who your guardian angel is and I have also found out how you can contact this being and have real proof of your Angel’s existence. I can tell you now Ally that your Angel is St. Isaiah – Archangel of Divine Mercy.

But let us begin by the beginning. The first question which we should ask is what exactly are Angels? For some people these are bright living lights, for others the essence of ancestors come to protect and shelter, some people believe Angels fly high in the sky and others still believe that these beings stay at our sides. It is difficult to respond precisely to this question but one thing is sure; Angels are out there and they give us constant reminders of their presence.

As far as I am concerned I believe that Angels live inside of us and they constantly sooth us and try to answer our most insignificant questions. I think that our Angels are to be found in the heart of our Chakra points and this is why to enter into contact with an Angel requires us to work deep within ourselves and to learn to develop our inner capacities. A lot of people have written about Angels and the general consensus seems to be that Angels are represented by bright rays of colored light which resemble the light which emanates from our Chakra points. Many people have witnessed this bright light and as a matter of fact a great number of these individuals claim to have seen bright golden lights flash in the corner of their eyes and these bright lights do not go away when they close their eyes! This is just the beginning, this is the first contact with a Guardian Angel.

Angels have access to our very souls and the essence of our being and this is how they are able to guide, inspire and protect us so well. These beings of light have a special power to light our souls and once we are able to listen to them we can absorb the valuable messages and advice which they whisper to us. Their aid is so precious to us because to is so personal and if we can call upon our Angel we benefit from their full support and counsel. This is why I want to help you to discover your particular Angel Ally and how you can contact St. Isaiah – Archangel of Divine Mercy with all of your faith and hope.

This is why I have worked on how you may contact your Angel Ally and I am ready to tell you how you can contact this being yourself. If you have a look at the web page link I am about to give you, you will be able to see photographs of the work I have done for you and you will also be able to discover how to contact your Angel yourself. You need only concentrate on your sensitivity, send your prayers and then listen for a response. This page will also give you some more details about Angels and how your Angel has already manifested itself in your life without you being fully aware of it. This makes for truly fascinating reading…

WOW. Good thing i searched about jenna, and saint betahny. She had me fooled. Good thing I did not pay her…. Very glad! So thanks for posting about her 🙂 I was so upset that I emailed her back asking her how she feels… screwing with peoples emotions and beliefs just to make a couple dollars!! She is unbelievable and I feel bad for the karma and all that is due to her. Thanks again!

I got the same thing about i have a guardian angel who’s name is St. uriel.Who has been by my side for the last 35 year’s Some of jenna’s Email ( Jenna post. that Angels are represented by bright rays of colored light which resemble the light matter of fact a great number of these individuals claim to have seen bright golden lights flash in the corner of their eyes and these bright lights do not go away when they close their eyes! This is just the beginning, this is the first contact with a Guardian Angel.) What i want to know is dose any one see flash of light out of the corner of your eye. Cause i do. Is this normal.? I think she is a fake. And only give’s out this Email if she know’s your age. (by my side for 35 years.) And i think lot of people see flash of light out of the corner of our eye’s. Good scam jenna.

Oh wow!!!I honestly can’t believe this, it’s scaring me now. Jenna told me the same thing! Of course I never sent her money, bu how can someone do this!!! She needs to get a real job, instead of trying to scam people for their money…

Thanx friends, Jenna send me a message too in which I am been protected by guardian angel st isaiah ,but when I search for it I found there is no existence of such angels,,How cruel astrologist are ,,,but I Believe that I am been protected by God at every step of my life ,dont harm anyone never do anything wrong ,God bless you all.

No weapons formed against me shall prosper. i can not bilieve that someone (jenna) would stoop that low in the name of making money. She sent me mail this morning telling me that there is someone watching over me. and i was so happy to know that because i bliv in guardian angels st. michael, gabriel and Raphael. but today jenna introduced a new saint called betahny! she does not exist! i actually learnt today that its a town where mary came from! so i started looking for answers and who she may be. But my God has prevailed yet again for he has shown me the truth by reading this site. People out there no matter how much we are deceived so that we stray away from God, if you bliv and trust in HIM, HE will show you the right way and the right path to follow.. just like i did..NO WEAPONS FORMED AGAINST THOSE WHO BILIEVE IN HIM SHALL PROSPER!

Wow, all of the comments is about jenna. All of us have been fooled that includes me!! hahahaha. I also received the same e mail (the same like dyamond.) Shamed to me!! Anyway thank you scotk. your blog really saved me.

Well well well, seems like we are all ‘protected’ by the infamous St. Betahny. No guess as to who introduced me to this angel. I’ve been going through a difficult time in my life for the past few months so out of curiosity, contacted Jenna. What great news I received about the stars and planets being in my favor! NOTHING has happened 8-[ but no surprise there after reading all these comments. I remembered thinking that how come it’s only GOOD things that were going to happen but nothing negative I mean, it sounded like a fantasy and not real life, ya know. Still, I fell victim to the hope of much positive things to come my way cause I needed something to hold on to (as we all know, the Almighty answers in his own time which is the right time and not our time so at that moment, I fell prey to something ‘physical’). Jenna sent me the exact same message as Dyamond yesterday, with the obvious changes. Does she even understand what the internet is about and the power it has of information sharing? Thank goodness for her ignorance or else I would NEVER have found this blog to read the comments. I never sent her a dime because all I wanted at the time was a guideline, an idea of what is to come. I didn’t care for the day-to-day details of the so-called turn my life was going to take. I mean, how boring to have no surprises. Anyway, thanks to everyone for their comments. My eyes are truly open now and I hope that many others will be too. I should have trusted God because he has NEVER let me down. I only hope he can forgive me cause I feel so guilty and foolish. Laterz folks . . .

Thank you to all for your feeds on this. I’ve been contacted by this Jenna today too, and I’m glad I found this site and read your comments.I had my doubts before and did not believe on what she was saying but now I’m convinced she is a real scam. I’m glad I decided to research St Betahny and found this site….Dyamond, that is exactly the same email I received today from this Jenna. 2 years on and hasn’t changed a single word on it…..I am so glad never I never fall for her rubish and did not sent her any money…

[Michael dissents. That’s okay. Scripture does not deny the reality of guardian angels. However, nowhere in Scripture are the angels at the beck and call of humans. They serve God alone. When the angels are sent or assigned for our aid, they work largely without our perceiving them, and without our awareness. Even in the extra-ordinary appearance of angels in Scripture it is in service to God’s plan of salvation. –SAK]

i’m interested to see if you post this. i never received an email, never heard the name of betahny, til one day she, or her energy was there, and she watches over me and my loved ones.

Thank you so much Father Scot for helping all of us with this piece of information. I am ashamed to say that even though I’m a Catholic, I contacted Jenna too and was told about this “archangel”, although I never sent her any money. Sometimes we don’t feel like having the patience to keep firm and let things develop according to God’s plan, and that’s maybe why we are tempted to look somewhere else. But all the answers are in the Scripture, more specifically in the Gospel, in the person of Jesus Christ.

Wow I see i’m not the only curious one contacted by Jenna Thank you God for sending me to this sight. For God is our help in all situations and I must be more careful dealing with these people of the world. God is my light and my salvation whom shall I fear! thank you Lord!

I am so disgusted at this Jenna sending me unsolicted emails and using my sacred religious belief to prosper. I too have Angel is St. Isaiah -Archangel of Divine Mercy protecting me!! Thank you sir for your honesty.